Playing with mud
by Chavva
Summary: I'm an asshole.No really. I'm egoistic,arrogant and fixated on looks. It never even occured to me to do something that wouldn't bring me profit. Who I am? Lucy Meier, Soil Alchemist. Yeah, an OC. Get over it already and read the story. Oh, review.
1. Fame, dirt and alchemy

_I take my pencil and poke the girl on my sketch block. 'C'mon, wake up' I say. Slowly, as if awaking for the first time her eyes start to move a little. She blinks. Moves her fingers. Takes a few steps. Opens her mouth for a long yawn. Then: 'Yo. What's up?' Her voice is kinda rough. 'It's your turn to appear in a story.' I inform her. 'Honestly? You drew me a story?' She looks interested now. 'No, I wrote you one. And now I wanna post it. So you need to be there...' She frowns. 'What do you mean, you wrote one? Ain't I supposed to be a manga character?' I sigh. 'Yeah, right. But you see, I'm not being published yet, so you've gotta make some guest appearances on other manga that**I don't own**by the way, so that people get to know you. Besides, there was never a manga intended for you in the first place. You're an OC.' She lookes displeased. 'So what manga?' I stare at her. 'What you don't know? Of course it's **Fullmetal Alchemist**!'. 'What's that?' 'Lucy, just start telling the story, alright?' 'Right, gotcha...' _

**Fame, Dirt and Alchemy**

**_'_****__****Earth, thou great footstool of our God, who reigns on high;  
thou fruitful source of all our raiment, life, and food;  
our house, our parent, and our nurse. '**

**__****Isaac Watts**

I'm an asshole.

No, really. I'm selfish, I'm obsessed with looks and I'm arrogant.

The idea of doing something for somebody that wouldn't bring me any personal profit never even crossed my mind. On the other hand I'd immediately harm someone just to get my way. Hell, I _have _emotionally crippled, physically injured and even killed people just to gain my objectives.

And you know what? I'm good with it.

When I get up in the morning and look into the mirror, I like what I see. Not only because I am good looking but because I don't see anything wrong with how I am living my live.

I mean, in all honesty...in my whole live I have not met one selfless person. Everyone is just striving to make profit. It may be emotional wellbeing, financial stability or the plain satisfaction of lust- but every one in this world is just trying to get as much as they only can.

Why should I be an exeption? In some ways I'm better than all those fucking hypocrites running around, seemingly bringing sacrifices to their own content. At least I admit it to myself-

I'm an asshole.

Take, not give. When you see something you like, get it. That is what I believed in my whole life. And it worked out well. I succeeded in getting myself everything that I wanted to have.

When I wanted money, I earned it. I didn't care that the way I did it hurt other people. When I wanted a person I took them, regardless of wether they were available or not. When I wanted status I got myself a good position. It didn't matter if I had to pull some strings and play dirty. Because that's just how the world works. It's not money that makes the world go round, it's dirt. Money is just one way of getting dirt.

You might think now that I'm some bitter middle aged white-collar-guy with a god-complex. Well, I don't know about the god-complex but I'm not middle aged. I'm not white collar. And I'm not male.

I'm quite the opposite, actually. I'm female, younger than 21 and older than 16 and I'm a state-alchemist.

As I already said, I didn't care what I had to do to get my current position. I had never even looked into alchemy until I realized that it was the fastest way to achieve a high status. And when i say fastest, I don't mean that it was so easy to learn alchemy within the few months I had left until the exams back then. That would have been impossible. Instead I concentrated on doing what I can best: Find a way around it. Understand the system. Scoop out the people in charge. Find a strategy. Execute it.

The system is easy: You first have got to pass the written exam that is being supervised by a Colonel or higher. Than you have to pass a practical exam supervised by several State Alchemists. And then you have to pass the interview supervised by the highest ups. After that you get 2 years to do what ever you want until the next exam comes up. And that one is much easier to pass than the first one.

The first and second step were easy once I figured out that the Colonel in charge had a thing for young girls. Let's just say, he was quite pleased that someone was offering him a good ride for little payment. He got me through the written exam with good grades and told me what the practical would be all about. That way it was easy to pass.

The interview could have become a problem, since there was a possibility that the fuhrer would be there. However, he wasn't...and the rest was simple. Play the cards you've got in the best way you can.

And hey, it's not like I didn't learn alchemy. I did. Because, you see, as I already said I'm looking for the fastest way to get what I want and once I had a starting point the fastest way to get a promotion was to get a name. Which meant that I had to be flashy at what I did. Flashy in a good way. So I learned alchemy.

But getting a name is not easy. Especially not where I work. And so I had to make a plan. First of all I had to find an area of expertise. It had to be an area that was proficient and simple at the same time. I decided to go with earth. Because transmutating earth is actually quite simple. You just have to know the components of the ground you're working on. Those components are practically in a raw form, which makes it easier to transmute than objects with complex structures. On the other hand, since earth contains many elements, you can transmute various things. Talking about naming, my specializing in earth-transmutation got me the name 'Soil-Alchemist'. Really, I'd have preferred something cooler and more striking. Then again, it does suit me well. As I already said, dirt makes the world go round.

So when I got my speciality I had to think about how to make it well known. By being flashy. And for that, what could be better than to team up with the most flashy people Central City has to offer? Especially when they are all on the same team conveniently?

That's right. The flashiest people in central- people who are aiming for the top. People who have a set objective. People with determination.

Because you now, the easiest thing in this world to use and manipulate is determination.

Those people I am talking about, you all know them. Their names are well known in whole Amestris and beyond. Which is something I want for myself. And I get what I want.

Those people are Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist. Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. Alphonse Elric, Edwards sidekick but still well known. Riza Hawkeye, not an alchemist but at the top of her area of expertise. The ultimate team for fame.

The team I wanted to join. So I did.

I straightened my clothes. I did not wear my uniform, I never did. Because uniform, as the name says, are there to uniform you. Make you one of the masses. Which I didn't want. My objective was to stick out. So the clothes I wore were always chosen according to strategy. Today the strategy was to leave a permanent impression of professionalism, a certain readiness to risks and a touch of naivity, which always goes well with superiors. It nutures their little god-complexes. The clothes of choice were black, knee-hight boots without heels, darkbrown shorts, not too short of course, a longsleeved darkblue turtleneck shirt and black fingerless gloves. For the naivity I had put my hair into high pigtails. All in all I was content with my appearance.

I knocked. A womans voice shouted 'Come in' and I opened the door. Inside people looked up. There was a man with messy two-coloured hair, according to my research his name was Jean Havoc. A guy with ashen hair was probably Falman. A young, a little round man with glasses was most certainly Leutenant Fuery. The blonde woman was one of my targets, Leutenant Riza Hawkeye.

'Yes?' she asked, crooking an eyebrow.

'Er, I'm Lucy Meier, reporting for duty? I mean, uh...this is Colonel Mustangs office, right?' Of course I knew exactly that this was Colonel Mustangs office, but playing a little insecure brought sympathy points.

'Yes, it is. Please wait a moment.' she got up and went over to a second door.

'Sir, there is a Lucy Meier for you. Shall I send her in?' Obviously she had not been informed about my arrival. Which was good, because that way she couldn't possibly have done research on me and what ever rumors she would hear later on would always be overshadowed by her first impression of me.

A man inside the other room answered something I could no quite make out. Leutenant Hawkeye nodded and waved me over. 'You can go in.'

I gave her a shy smile while slipping past her into the office, then the door closed behind me. At the desk was sitting a tall man with raven hair and a very handsome face.

'I'm Colonel Mustang.' We shook hands.

He pointed me to take a seat, which I did and looked at me for a while. I decided that it was best to go with a little nervosity and started to move in my chair uncomfortably. He cleared his throat.

'So you are Lucy Meier, the Soil Alchemist? That's a strange name for a young lady.' I smiled. He had quite the reputation for being a womanizer and I could see how he got it. It wasn't just his looks, it was his whole attitude. He was the perfect manipulator. I would be able to learn quite a bit about smooth talking and deception from this man.

'Yes, Sir. My speciality is the transmutation of earth, Sir.'

He picked up a file. 'That's right. You took the State Alchemist exam two years ago and passed with very good grades. Later you were stationed at Western Headquaters where you helped with restauration and enforcement of barricades. Commander Haley seems to be quite satisfied with your skill.'

I tried to look flusterd. I really needed to learn how to blush on command.

'One year ago you successfully stopped a break in at the National War Museum in Weihenstadt while researching information on a lost alchemy book which you later were able to locate but not retrieve in Neuetown.'

'Yes, Sir. The book was burned by a terrorist organization before I could reach the location.'

'Well, it seems like you were very usefull in Western Headquaters, especially since they have been having problems with rebell attacs. Which leads me to the question why Commander Haley would ask for your transfer to Central?'

Here it came. Of course it would look suspicious if an alchemist who had brought good results suddenly was to be transferred to a new base. There was no way somthing like this would get past Colonel Mustang- otherwise I'd be wasting my time.

'I was looking for an opportunity to polish my skills and when there was a personel change I asked for the possibility of changing locations. I am very gratefull to Commander Haley for giving me such a wonderfull opportunity, Sir.'

Commander Haley had actually been in a fix because of a little gambling problem and I had made sure it didn't get out- making sure that I landed on Mustangs team was just a little sign of gratitude that I requested in return.

'I see. I am glad to have you on my team then. I am going to...'

He was interrupted when the door was smashed open and someone started cursing like crazy. 'Shit Colonel, what the hell were you thinking making me go on a fucking kamikaze trip?!' A short, blonde boy stormed in, dropping onto the couch, shortly followed after by a huge suit of armour. The Elric-Brothers.

'Fullmetal. Can't you see I'm busy and can't deal with your complaints right now?' The Colonel asked, frowning.

'Tch. What's that important about your random problems? I'm telling you, one day I'm gonna kick your ass and then you'll have really a bunch of problems to deal with!'

I ducked a little to give off the impression of being intimedated.

'Right, I'm very sorry Fullmetal. It seems this kind of big problem is just too much for your slim shoulders.' Mustang remarked.

I had heard about it but actually seeing it was a whole different dimension. At the mention of size Edward Elric immediately started boiling, then jumping up and down, absolutely exaggerating the comment of the other.

'Who do you call so small that he couldn't bear the weight of an ant?! Who do you call a miniature dwarf with shoulders so small he couldn't carry a feather?!'

Honestly, at that moment I dropped every mask I might have put on before entering the office. 'He didn't go that far...' I muttered while staring at him in utter disbelieve. How could he get this upset over a mere remark about size?

'Brother...' for the first time the person inside the armour spoke. 'Please calm down.' Ed continued jumping for a little longer but then dropped back onto the couch.

'I'm very sorry Colonel Mustang. Brother is still a little upset.And I'm sorry for barging in like that.' Alphonse Elric muttered inside the armour. Inside he was probably blushing from embarressment.

'Nothing new, Alphonse. Please do not worry about it.' Mustang replied turning his attention to the younger brother.

'Actually it is quite convenient that you are here. I'd like to introduce someone to you.' Edward raised an eyebrow staring at me as if he noticed me for the first time. Which was probably true, seeing as he was too busy cursing and jumping before.

'This is Lucy Meier, also known as the Soil Alchemist. From today she'll be under my command, which...'

'Condolences' Edward quickly muttered ('Brother...don't interrupt the Colonel, it's rude').

'...Which basically means that she will be accompaning you.'

For the second time in only five minutes all my guards dropped when the elder Elric started protesting very loud and very colourfull. Honestly, that guy had some severe anger-managment issues.

'Fullmetal sit down. Now.' The Colonels voice had changed suddenly. Before it had been mocking but now it was serious. Edward, surprisingly, shut up and sat.

'I don't get why we've got to dragg some obstacle around with us!' ('Brother...you're being rude...')

'Because, Fullmetal, it is not supposed to be 'we'. It's actually supposed to be just you. The higher ups have been overlooking the fact that a civilian is meddling with military buisness because they regard your work as usefull, but this is not going to last forever. Someday all those screw ups the two of you commit on a daily basis will catch up with you and you might want to have a neutral witness that can testify that it was not Alphonses interferance that caused the mission failures. You know what might happen if someone decides to look closer into your case?'

I stopped breathing. There it was. He had brought it up. The mystery about the Elric-Brothers that none of my contacts had been able to tell me about. This could become usefull blackmai...I mean information on my coworkers. Unfortunatley the mentioning of their little secret had cooled Ed off and he didn't object any further, depriving me of any possibility to listen in on more. Alphonse moved uncomfortably in his seat. 'I'm very sorry for my Brother's behaviour. He's not usually like that.' He mumbled into my direction. Actually I got the impression that Edward Elric was pretty much always like that and that it was a habit of his younger brother to apologize for every single embarrassment the elder brought upon them.

Well, if Alphonse Elric wanted to play mom for his big brother he was free to do it. It's not like it was any of my buisness. It did tell me something about the personalities of the two brothers. Priceless information when you're trying to get something from someone, which I did. The dynamics of human interaction are the base society is built on- and I wanted to climb up the ladder of society. The Elrics were very important steps I could not afford to miss, or otherwise I'd fall.

'Don't worry about it. It's very nice to meed you!' I put on a smile and took a few steps forward. 'I'm looking forward to working with you.'

'Yeah, what ever.' Edward said with crossed arms, not responding to my offer to shake hands.

'Nice to meet you, er...' Alphonse stopped for a brief moment, trying to recall my name. '...Lucy? This is my brother Edward and I'm Alpohonse Elric.'

When the introduction was over (during which Edward sulked in a corner) Colonel Mustang cleared his throat. 'Alright, having that said, Fullmetal I expect your report to be on my desk by tomorrow and don't make it 40 pages. Nobody want's to know about the basics of fusion alchemy. Just write about the mission.'

'I never wrote even one word about fusion alchemy. It's boring and inaccurate. You can't even call it alchemy.'

'Right. Anyway, just deliver the rep...' The phone on his desk suddenly rang. 'Please excuse me' Mustang picked up.

'This is Colonel Mustang, who am I speaking to?...Yes, sir...No, it was my pleasure...Anytime, Sir...Yes, about that matter...' He waved a hand to signalize that we were released. Edward rolled his eyes and left the room while muttering something under his breath. Alphonse followed only shortly after him and so did I.

In the other office Alphonse turned around to me. 'It was nice meeting you. We should leave now, but we'll probably see each other around.'

Oh, you bet we will. Once the fish is on the hook, you don't just let it swim!

'Likewise, Alphonse, Edward. See you.'

They left, leaving me standing in the midst of the office with 4 guys and a woman staring at me as if I was a ghost. I had totally forgotten that noone of them knew who the hell I was. I mean, if some random girl crosses up at your office one day and starts getting friendly with your coworkers you'd probably stare as well.

'Er...hello everyone.'

'...'

'So...what do I do now?'

The forth guy, probably Breda, that hadn't been there when I came in crooked an eyebrow. Havoc sucked a cigarette. Fuery was pushing his glasses up and down again. Falman did nothing. I mean, literally nothing. He was leaning at the edge of a desk like a stone statue. Hawkeye frowned.

The silence was starting to get on my nerves. I hate silence. It is so much harder to understand people's thoughts while they're talking. Nervous, this time for real, I pulled my hair a little. 'I think Colonel Mustang was going to tell me, but then he got a call and it seemed to be important, so he dismissed us...'

'...'

Ok, this was getting very uncomfortable.

I mean, ok, you can be surprised and stare a little if some random girl crosses up at your office one day and starts getting friendly with your coworkers. But, well, some vocal reaction would be nice once she starts talking, right? Or is it just me?

'So...I'm really glad to meet you all?' I offered.

'...'

Now , so I thought, it was beginning to be rude. Usually when somebody expresses pleasure over making your acquaintance you do reply. At least with a grunt! Not that a grunt would be a very polite reply but still...What do you talk about with people who don't talk to you? Let's just do it like in good old england...the weather. And here I must appologize for the retard who writes this story, she probably didn't realize that there is no england in our world. And because she's not very creative she decided to swap 'england' with an anagram...so here comes the corrected sentence:Let's just do it like in good old Danleng...the weather.

'You know, we didn't have that much sunshine where I come from. You're lucky. Well, and I'm lucky too, because I get to be here while...'  
The door I previously closed behind me opened. 'I'm afraid that's not the case. Havoc, would you please notify Fullmetal that there's a job to be done?'

Havoc blinked and the cigarette fell out of his mouth. I swear, it seemed like he had been sleeping with open eyes before and realized his surroundings just now. 'Sir? But he just left?'

Mustang sighed. 'Yeah, I know that. However, something came up.'

Havoc rose from his seat and walked out of the door.

'Miss Meier, would you please return to my office?'

A little surprised I did as he asked. What could that something that came up be?

Only five minutes passed until the door was kicked open again. 'Flame-Bastard, are you having fun ordering me around all day long?!' Yeah, well. Guess who.

'Yes, actually. I heard daily exercise stimulates growth.'

Edward turned red. Again. 'Damn you, Mustang. I'll make you miserable one day.'

'Not a problem. Until that day comes I'll enjoy doing it to you...although I doubt you could ever make me miserable.'

The short alchemist growled. No, really. Just like a dog.

'I'm sorry Colonel. Brother gets easily upset when he can't eat his meal to the end. How can we help you?'

It was the calm, hollow voice of Alphonse Elric, who came into the room after Edward.

'I just got a phonecall. Eichendorff, a city in the south, has requested military assistance with a problem concerning several break-ins during the last month. I want you, Fullmetal, to go there and help them catch the perpetrator. And since it is a good opportunity to test your teamwork, I'd like you to take Miss Meier with you.'

'Fuck you. I'll go, but she's not coming. I don't need any baggage.'

'Maybe I phrased that last sentence wrong. Not only would I like you to take her with you, I order you to.'

'Fuck' Edward repeated. 'Anyway, why me...us...whatever?'

'Because I decided it. I reserved you seats in a train that leaves in...oh my, time flies! thirty minutes. If I were you, I'd hurry up or you're paying the tickets yourself.' Mustang grinned. Right. Time flies. But maybe he helped just a little so that it wouldn't have to fly too far. Poor time, we don't want it to get tired now, do we?

'Shit Colonel, you could have left us some time to pack!' Edward jumped up. He obviously didn't want to pay the tickets himself.

'Nah, I figured it's more comfortable not to unpack in the first place. You have to see how that saves you two unnecessary procedures...Miss Meier, I hope you can get the most necessary on such short notice? As far as I know the guys in the west are always on the run to somewhere?'

I cleared my throat. Just where the heck did he think I could get 'the most necessary' from within that time? I faked a smile. 'Of course.'

Maybe I could buy some 'boxed baggage' at the trainstation. I mean, they do have boxed lunch, why shouldn't they also sell ready-to-go luggage? Custom-made, of course. Yeah, right. I'd better just go with the emergency-bag in my locker. Yeah, believe it or not although you have probably never heard of it, Central Headquaters actually does have a locker-room. As a matter of fact, it has three. Just in case that I needed to go far away suddenly- for example if one of my blackmai...I mean kind help-offers went wrong, it was good to have some backup clothes and a toothbrush close by.

'This...' Mustang pointed to one of the files on his desk '...explains the mission further. I hope you can resolve the situation fast. And Fullmetal...' he frowned '...Try to keep the collatoral damage to a minimum, alright?'

Edward, now strangely peacefull took the file and tossed me one as well. 'Gotcha'.

With this we were dismissed.

Once outside the office (after passing my new, seemingly mute, coworkers) we decided to meet directly at the station, since the Elrics had to get their baggage from another part of the compounds. I went down to the locker-room and pulled out my bag. It wasn't that big. I never was a fan of travelling with a lot of stuff. In my opinion, there is not much sense in taking half your wardrobe with you everytime you go on a trip. Why should I take like five trousers with me, when two did the job just as well? You always find a place to wash your clothes. Well, except maybe in the desert. But I don't think there are much people in the desert to complain about you not changing your clothes for a few days.

Just to be sure I went through the bag. Luckily I had packed clothes that more or less fitted the image I was trying to build in central. There were two shorts, one in marine blue and one in black, two shirts with long sleeves, brown and black and some fresh underware. A coat I had custom made for me- the material was thin so that it was compact, but dense so that it kept warm. Some medical drugs- you never know. A toothbrush. That was it. What else do you need?

I closed the zipper on the bag, threw it over my shoulder and left.

Where to and what I would find there exactly I didn't know yet. But I was ready to learn about it...

_'That's it. I'm outta here for today...' Lucy says. 'Besides, people probably won't read this anyway. Who wants to read OC storys?' I look a little insulted. 'Well, I just hope that people like the way I tell stories and also the OCs I create.' Someone cleares his throat. 'Can't you just write a goddamn story without those fucking Mary-Sues? Really, Lucy, I don't want to insult you but i'm not planning to fall in love with you. You're not my type.' Edward says frowning ('Brother...') 'Oh, don't worry Ed, I don't want you to fall in love with Lucy. I haven't decided yet wether I'll pair you with Roy or with Winry...I like both pairings. Besides, I hope that Lucy won't develop into a Mary Sue. I'm trying hard to prevent that, but you know...it's hard not to go overboard with these kind of things. So I would like to ask my kind readers to tell me when they think Lucy is getting annoying...'_

_'I think she's annoying already. I don't need her on this mission...'_

_'Well, if you think so...'_

_'I do'_

_'Anyway. Next chapter is my turn to tell you a little story. I'll change POV every chapter to keep the story interesting.'_

_Ed looks up, a little more interested. 'Do I also get a chapter?'_

_'I hope more than just one...and Al will get some as well, of course...'_

_'You know, this authors note is getting extremely long' Lucy mumbles._

_'You're right. Dang. I have so much to tell...anyway, read and review, flames will be redirected to Colonel Mustangs office. Oh, and tell me what pairings you would like to have. You can choose between: HavocRiza + RoyEd, RoyRiza + WinEd and AlWin+RoyEd/RoyRiza. Lucy will be paired with fame :-). Hope you had fun reading the first chapter! See you next!'_

_Chavva _

_P.S: For those of you who like to have a visual on OCs, follow that link to get a pic of Lucy! I screwd the lower hand up, but you'll forgive ...and it doesn't let me post the link...I'll try another one...which also doesn't work. go on my profile.  
_


	2. Rubble trouble

**Rubble trouble**

**_Rubble is broken __stone__, of irregular size and shape. This word is closely connected in derivation with „rubbish", which was formerly also applied to what we now call "rubble". _**

'I can't believe this.' It was Edwards voice that suddenly disrupted the absolute darkness around them. Nobody answered.

'Hey, are you there, Al?' he asked suspiciously.

Still silence.

'Al?'

Nothing.

'Oh I see. Now you're upset. Fine. Let's play that game. But I'm warning you, I'm good at I'm-not-talking-to-you.'

Since there still wasn't any response, Edward sat down with crossed legs and sulked. It was probably not very efficient to sulk demonstratively in absolute darkness but he did it anyway- just in case.

Lucy who was sitting somewhere unknowen to Edward and the maybe absent, maybe upset Alphonse, pulled out a box of very wet matches. After trying to enkindle one for several minutes and beheading half of them in the process a sound of utter frustration escaped her mouth.

Edward turned his head into the direction of the sounds. 'What the hell are you doing?' he asked. 'I thought we were not talking.' replied Lucy scowling at the place where she suspected her hand- and the unfortunate matches- to be.

'No, _we_ are talking, _Al and I_ are obviously not talking. So what are you doing?'

'I'm trying to get some light in here. Unfortunately because a certain someone had to destroy all the waterpipes everything is wet.'

The certain someone shrugged for a response which Lucy obviously could not see.

'I am wet, too.' She added.

'So...?'

'I hate being wet!'

Ed grimassed. That's why he hated taking people along on missions. They were always complaining.

'And I'm cold and hungry!'

See? Al never complained about being wet or cold or hungry. Well...he didn't get cold or hungry. And he probably didn't mind being wet. But Edward himself also never complained about being cold or hungry. Or wet. Ok, he did complain sometimes. Most times. But his own complaining didn't annoy him half as much as did hers.

'I hate being cold and hungry.'

'You know, I think it would be better if we weren't talking either.'

Al, who was there but still upset at his brother bit his imaginary tongue so that his usual 'Brother...' didn't slip out.

Several minutes passed.

Then: 'Hey, Fullmetal?'

What kind of adress was that? It sounded like the Colonel talking in person.

'What is it _now?_'

'I was wondering...you're like the prodigy and stuff...how come you can't just make a hole into the wall and let us out of here?'

Was this really a question? If it was it was a rather stupid one.

'There is a whole building above us. If I accidentaly make a hole in a carrying wall everything will come down.'

'Are you sure it didn't already? Cause it sure seems like it.'

'Look, if you want to make holes do it yourself. Walls should be your speciality, Miss Clever Soil Alchemist.'

'I can't see anything.'

'So?'

'If I can't see anything I can't pick the right disc.'

'What's a disc?' As far as Ed knew you didn't need music to perform alchemy.

'It's a device I use so that I don't have to draw a transmutation circle everytime. I always carry them with me but since we just arrived I wasn't able to do an analysis of the ground around us and didn't put them into their holding places. A circle for calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium won't make a hole into a concrete wall.'

Ed was slightly interested. Those discs were a system he hadn't seen in use yet. 'How many of them do you have?'

'Ten basic discs for working on soils with different concentrations of the basic earth components and additional parts that I can add to specify the components.'

'May I see one?'

'Suit yourself, although I don't think you'll be able to make out anything in here.' Lucy crawled over to the direction where she supposed Edward to be. An 'Ouch!' confirmed his position when she accidentaly stepped on his foot. She pulled out a sac and opened it. 'I'm warning you, I have no idea which disc I'm pulling out. Be carefull with it.' If she accidentaly pulled the disc for wet ground or something similar and he was careless with it he could accidentaly transmute a part of his body. Not a very pleasant experience- and she could tell. She carefully put it into his palm that she had discovered by feeling around in the dark.

The object that was put into Ed's hand was a heavy, round object of maybe five centimeters diameter. When he ran his fingers over it's surface he realised that it was rather a grid with a strange, irregular pattern than what you would call a disc. Some parts could even be turned on an axis.

'Did you make it yourself?' he asked. As far as he could judge from feeling it was amazing handywork.

'I developed the system but I had someone else do the manufacture.' She answered. 'Could I please have it back now? You can inspect it all you want once we're out of here.'

'Well, this sure is a usefull thing if you can't remember your transmutation circles...' Ed teased and dropped it onto her open palm. He was lucky he guessed right where her palm was.

'I _can_ remember my transmutation circles just fine!'

'_Really?_'

'Yeah. Want me to prove it on you?!'

'Bring it on!' Edward jumped to his feet. Somewhere infront of him, so he supposed, Lucy did the same thing.

'Brother, stop it.' Al started to fear that if he didn't say anything those two would actually start trying out alchemy on each other. Not very desirable under any circumstances but especially bad when you're locked in on a tight space, somewhere under a building without any light. God knows what could happen.

'Why are you taking her side? She started it!' Ed was indignant. They knew the girl for like ten hours but his brother, who by the way knew him since his birth, was telling _him_ off.

'Well I do have to do something to kill time!' Lucy answered defiant.

'But you don't need to kill time by doing unreasonable stuff' the younger Elric tried to reason. Ed nodded satisfied. Exactly. She was the one who should be told off. 'Besides, I think somebody will get us out of here soon.' Al said in a confident tone. 'They know we're down here and no matter how angry they were at the military they won't let us rott here.'

Everyone mused about what the younger Elric had just said.

'You know...' Lucy slowly said.

'...they did seem like they'd like to see us dead. They attacked us five minutes after we arrived in town.' Edward remarked.

'Yeah...they looked like they were the definition of 'furious mob' and about to do some very destructive stuff with some very destructive weapons' Lucy finished.

'Well...maybe they would let us rott here' Al agreed. 'But I think they will try to excavate their archive.'

Eds face brightened up. His brother was right. This was the city archive after all. If there were any sane people in this town they'd digg it up. And even though it had seemed quite the oppisite it would be impossible to keep a town running without even one sane person.

As if to confirm his train of thought they heared rolling stones and voices.

'_I think it's over here!_'

_'I need a bigger shovel!'_

More stones rolled and the voices grew louder.

_'I think I just broke through...get me a light!'_

There was a pause and then a thin ray of light cut the darkness around the alchimist trio.

'Is anybody here?' A voice shouted.

'Yeah! Yeah, we're over here!' For the first time in what seemed like hours Alphonse saw the muddy face of his brother in the now dimm room. He was obviously relieved.

'Stay where you are, we're breaking through.'

More stones rolled and soon the light grew brighter. Something round popped out of a hole in the rubble. It was covered in dust and hair but it was most definitely a face.

The dusty hairball smiled. 'Whew. I suggest we get you out of there now. It doesn't seem too comfortable.'

_You bet_ Edward thought as he stood up.

'I really am sorry you got involved in that stuff.' A blanket was given to each of them. 'The People's Brigade assumed you were part of the exercise and attacked relentlessly. They didn't expect you to use alchemy I guess.' Ed pulled his blanket over his shoulders.

'The People's Brigade?' Alphonse asked curiously.

'It's a little initiative we created. Since military presence is low in this town we train a unit of civilians in combat so that they can protect themselves.'

Lucy raised an eyebrow. 'Isn't that like against the rules?'

'Well, yeah it is. But you see, rules are there to be bent, right? I'm glad you didn't die though. I'd have a hard time explaining to headquarters why their reinfocements were killed by armed civilians. It causes me a headache to only think about the paperwork.'

The dusty hairball, who had been whiping his face madly with a wet towel looked up and revealed himself to be a tall, admittedly still dusty but handsome man in his early thirties with brown hair and bright blue eyes. At the sight of his face Edward gasped.

'I mean, you know. They always have this stuff you need to write, the death certificates, the damage report, the letters to your families and so on. Not to talk about the insurance-guys who come with their whole own stack of paper.' The young man shook his head. 'I don't get why people even deal with paperwork...when I am Fuhrer I'll abolish all of it.'

'Well, Sir, you'll still have to file a damage report since you are not Fuhrer just yet. And you might never get the chance to be because if you don't sign the damage report from one week ago right along with the new one I will be forced to cut you a little.'

Edward and Alphonse stared. A redhaired woman had appeared in the doorway, with a stack of papers. 'You wouldn't do that, would you Leutenant?' The young man laughed. SIIRRRR. CHONK. The young man turned pale as a knife struck the wall just next to his right ear. A single streak of hair fell to the ground. 'Why don't you just try it out, Major?' An evil glint appeared in the woman's eyes.

'Al...am I dreaming?' Ed asked somewhat insecure.

'No, I believe you are awake.' Al answered.

'Are you sure? Because I am seeing a brunette Mustang.'

'I am as well.' Alphonse said.

'What are you guys talking about?' The brunette Mustang looked at them with interest. They looked back. Even Lucy couldn't deny that appart from hair- and eye-colour the man before them looked frighingly like the Flame-Alchemist.

'Maybe we are having a mass-hallucination after being stuck in that dark place for hours.' She proposed.

'If I were hallucinating I wouldn't hallucinate a _brunette Mustang _of all things_._' Edward said. Desperate.

'Hm...Leutenant Hedgehog, are you sure the short guy doesn't have a concussion? He's talking about brunette horses.'

Suddenly it didn't matter wether the brunette man was a hallucination, a dream or the toothfairy, the hated words brought life back to Edward.

'WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT HE COULDN'T RIDE A PONY?! WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL HE WOULD BE CRUSHED BY A HORSES TAIL LIKE A GADFLY?! WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO TINY HE...!!' Ed was stopped when Al clapped a hand over his mouth and pulled him out of the surprised brunette Mustang's face ('I...didn't go that far...'). The younger Elric mumbled something apologetic while the rest recovered from the shock.

'I believe he was not talking about horses, Major Morgan.' the redhead stated dryly.

'He's not? But just now he was saying...' The prior hairball frowned.

'Colonel Mustang is our commanding officer back at headquarters.' Alphonse said a little embarrassed. 'And you happen to look and beha...well, there are certain similarities.'

The expression of the young man brightened up. 'I see. Well, I assure you, my name is not Mustang and you are not hallucinating. I'm Major Basil Morgan, in charge of this base. This is...' he pointed at the woman '...my second in command, Leutenant Yzobel Hedgehog.'

Edward, who had calmed down eyeballed them. Yzobel Hedgehog was, although very different from Hawkeye by looks still very much like her in attitude. Although she wore her hair in a short bob, was slim and almost as tall as the Major while Hawkeye was rather petite and had long blonde hair, he could see the same determination in the eyes of both women and in their voices while talking to their respective superior officer he could hear the same deep commitment.

Al gave him a slight punch to the ribbs. A reminder to introduce themselves.

'I am Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. This is my brother, Alphonse Elric.' he pointed at Al. Morgan shook their hands.

'Oh and this is...' Ed remembered but Lucy disrupted him.

'I'm Lucy Meier, the Soil Alchemist.' She also shook hands with the major.

'And now...could you please tell us why we are here?' Asked the elder Elric once the introductions were all over. Major Morgan made a thoughtfull face. 'I think it is better if you all get cleaned up and changed first. It's a somewhat long story. I'll ask some of my subordinates to guide you to the dormitory and then we can discuss the matter over a dinner.'

To be honest, Edward, didn't think the proposal sounded all that bad. Even if it had been unnerving, Lucy had been right about being cold, wet and hungry. They agreed to meet the Major in one hour in the dinnerhall and followed a young officer who was smoking a cigarette- luckily his hair wasn't two coloured or Ed might just have lost his sanity.

When he walked out the door he turned around once more. Yes, Basil Morgan and his Leutenant were really like mirror images of the Flame Alchemist and Riza. It was not only the Major's face. It was also the movements, the speech-pattern. The same ambitions. And the same look in their eyes. It was the look Colonel Mustang got when he was really troubled by something- those rare moments when Ed instantly knew he had to shut up and listen to whatever the bastard said in silence- and when Hawkeye had pulled too many all-nighters in a row. If those two were really anything like their counterparts in Central City- and his guts told him so- then whatever they were going to tell them later was a lot of trouble.

Once in the room he was supposed to share with Al during their mission in Eichendorff he sat down on the bed and sighed. 'So...what do you think?' he asked slowly.

Al turned his metal head. 'They are very much alike.'

Ed nodded. 'And something is majorly wrong with this town. I have never heard of something like a People's Brigade _supported_ by the local military base. Everybody in the military knows that armed civilians are a ticking bomb. If they had time to found a vigilante group why not just call for reinforcements sooner?' He pulled off his boots and grimmassed when a gush of water swapped on the floor.

'I agree. It doesn't make much sense.' said Al, watching his brother as he fought with his wet coat.

'It also seems strange to me that the Colonel sent us away so hurriedly. It's like he didn't want anybody to know about this. Do you think the Colonel and the Major know each other?'

'They might, but I don't think so. Morgan didn't know the Colonel's name, right?'

'He could have pretended not to...' Ed finally had gotten his coat off and startet changing his shirt and trousers.

'Why should he? If they know each other well enough to plot something the military is not supposed to know about wouldn't it make much more sense to let us in on it since they want us to help? And if they do plot something why should the Colonel send Lucy Meier with us, a person neither he nor us know the least bit?'

Ed pulled his shirt over his head and said something muffeled.

'Brother, I can't understand you this way...' Al said slightly amused.

'I said, there's something off about that girl, too. When we were buried I felt that something was wrong.'

Al thought for a while. 'You know, there are some pretty harsh rumors flying around about her...' he said. He was not sure wether he should really tell his brother. The way he knew him, he'd do something rash and stupid again.

'What kind of rumors?' Ed asked cuiously.

'Just stuff...well, there are probably a lot of rumors flying around about everybody.'

'What kind of stuff?' Ed interrogated. Once something had enkindled his interest he wouldn't give up until he solved the problem. This was one of the reasons that made him one of the best alchemists out there.

'Well...like she cheated to get through the exams...or that she actually can't do any alchemy at all by herself...or that she uses her female attributes shamelessly...also that you've got to be carefull what you tell her otherwise you might regret it...it's all pretty vague. Nothing substantial.' Al answered carefully. Ed grimassed. 'Well, they said I cheated at the exams as well and that I am in love with Winry...that doesn't make it necessarily true.'

Al decided not to tell his brother that him being in love with Winry was not a rumor but an established fact that he just didn't realize yet and that not telling the examiners at the interview that they had attempted human transmutation could be considered cheating. Edward sighed. 'However, I am one thing, that girl is another. There's something that just doesn't feel right about her. No matter what the rumors are, I think she's dangerous. We should be carefull when dealing with her.'

On that Alphonse agreed completely with his brother. There was actually one more disturbing rumor he hadn't told his brother yet...he didn't think it was necessary because he couldn't picture Lucy doing such a thing but still...they had been decieved by completely other people.

'Anyway' Ed pulled his boots back on and put on a disgusted face when he was reminded that they were still wet 'About the situation in this town we'll learn soon enough and about Lucy Meier certainly in time. We'll just have to keep our guard up.'

Al nodded. His brother was right. There was nothing among those rumors that made them a matter of urgency.

Lucy changed her wet clothes as fast as possible. She still had some stuff to do before she could consider herself fully prepared for whatever the Colon- sorry, Major- had to tell them. She grabbed a belt with several hooks on it and fastened it around her waist. Then she took up the sac she had her discs stored in and went out the door. When she passed by the hallway in direction of the stairs she heard the hollow voice of Alphonse Elric. '_...some pretty harsh rumors flying around about her_'

Lucy stopped. _'What kind of rumors?_' This time it was Edward who spoke. The girl gulped. How was that possible? She had been but an hour at central. How could there already be rumors? And how could Alphonse Elric, who had left headquarters half an hour after making her acquaintance have heard of them?

She listened deeper into the conversation and turned pale when she realized just how accurate they were. Hearing some of them out of the mouth of another person made her feel strange. When she had heared enough she left her post by the door. Deep in thought she went downstairs and outside. After a while she kneeled down on the ground and took a handfull of stones off the road. Then she pulled off one of her gloves. It was time to do some preparations.

_Sorry. I honestly thought I had uploaded this chapter already._

_And just in case: No, according to the rumor, Lucy is not a homunculus, she's not some incredibly powerfull magician and she has not had an incredibly tragic past that supasses the tragic pasts of the Elrics, Hawkeye and Mustang all together. It's just a tiny bit tragic- because honestly, have you seen one character in the FMA-Universe that does not have issues? I have not. Anyway, the rumor doesn't concern her past full of tears and pain ;P. It's just a particularily nasty rumor. And rumors are not always true anyway. However, this is an OC story and Lucy is supposed to be the main character. That just how OC storys are. I'm warning you again, if you don't like it, you shouldn't read this story. _


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